Power down: Phil Taylor loses world final in last darts game

There was no fairytale ending to the incredible darts career of Phil Taylor, with the game's most successful player losing the world championship final in his last-ever match.

Taylor, a 16-time world champion nicknamed "The Power," was thrashed 7-2 by former electrician Rob Cross, who was playing his first world final in his first year as a professional.

Britain's Phil Taylor reacts prior to his final match against Britain's Rob Cross, during day fifteen of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, in London, Monday, Jan. 1, 2018. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

The 57-year-old Taylor won his world titles between 1990 - the year Cross was born - and 2013, including eight straight from 1995.

Cross and Taylor lifted the trophy together as the crowd at Alexandra Palace chanted Taylor's name.

Cross averaged more than 107 in the final.

"He was like me 25 years ago," Taylor said.

"It was like I was at the end of my career and he's at the beginning. It was an old man against a young man. It was mismatch really ... I didn't have the energy to beat him."

Britain's Phil Taylor in action during his final match against Britain's Rob Cross, on day fifteen of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, in London, Monday, Jan. 1, 2018. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)